New Delhi: The Indian Army, which also runs 136 schools across the country, will now partner with at least one government or government-aided school to lend a hand to the country’s public education sector.
initiative is being takenVidyanjali‘Scheme run by the Ministry of Education, Government of India.
Sources in the defense and security establishment told ThePrint that the move would see army schools helping government schools through a “mentor-mentee role”.
The sources further said that assistance will be provided by the Indian Army to the schools in various capacities, including infrastructure development and logistics management, as well as through the initiative of the Army Welfare Education Society (AWES).
These initiatives pertain to inclusive education, programs for gifted children and promotion of scientific rigor through Atal Labs and Maths and Science Labs.
Additionally, sources said that “136 schools have already been identified and approached by Army Public Schools in consultation with the Ministry of Education for registration and participation in activities under this initiative.”
The Army will also focus on helping teachers in schools through various training and up-skilling programmes. These will include basic literacy courses, and enable the use of technology to teach and assess students. The curriculum also envisages sharing of best practices between the Army Schools and those mentored by them.
“The program will also focus on soft skill development, including cross-visits by teachers and volunteer parents, as well as joint participation in sports, debates and other extra-curricular activities,” said the source.
With around 2.3 lakh students and 8,500 teaching staff, there are currently 136 Army Public Schools (APS) across the country and an average of 5,000 students are added every year. A system of several schools was formalized for the children of the Armed Forces personnel under various regional commands. 1980,
The school offers syllabus as per NCERT and is affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
Read also: Army to shift 41 per cent from old equipment to state-of-the-art…